In our review of Egyptian Blue's debut EP Collateral Damage we put forward the suggestion that "maybe a full-length LP of [their music] might get a little exhausting", but graft new EP Body of Itch onto that visceral introduction to the Brighton band and you would be left with a serious piece of post-punk debauchery.
Less than ten minutes long, Body of Itch is a three-track illustration of the leaps and bounds the band have made in the ten months since their debut dropped; the same brittle guitars scythe through left-of-centre hooks and the bass is still pushed high in the mix but there is a new depth, dare we say a maturity, to proceedings.
Less than ten minutes long, Body of Itch is a three-track illustration of the leaps and bounds the band have made in the ten months since their debut dropped; the same brittle guitars scythe through left-of-centre hooks and the bass is still pushed high in the mix but there is a new depth, dare we say a maturity, to proceedings.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the dynamic dexterity of 'Four Is The Last Four', which taps into the grandeur of The Murder Capital (for whom the band opened on their recent UK tour) and channels Joy Division and Gang of Four. The pivotal moment comes halfway through when a cymbal-cracking wall of sound provides a dizzying backing not for that customary howl (don't worry, that comes later) but for some of the calmest vocals on the record – it's a beguiling touch which encapsulates a band already rising above simple sonic onslaught.
Across all three tracks the band display a road-honed tightness which brings extra swagger to opener 'Nylon Wire' and another layer of complexity to mesmerising closer 'Never'. Taken as a whole Body of Itch solidifies what is rapidly becoming a signature sound good enough to place them on a par with, yet set apart from, the likes of post-punk heavyweights IDLES and The Murder Capital, and that is with less than 30 minutes of music released; heaven help us if and when a full album comes.
Words - Joe Ponting
Body Of Itch is out now on Yala! Records